History

Overview

Instead of the usual string of events found in a textbook, history at Harvest Collegiate pushes students to critically evaluate historical sources at pivotal moments in history. History is also an imaginative springboard for students to fully imagine the past and consider alternatives for the future. In courses such as “Heroes and Villains” students read key primary sources and the works of contemporary historians, role-play, research and debate the merits of Hernan Cortes, Martin Luther, Galileo Galilei, Catherine the Great and Elizabeth I in their time and ours, while in “Design Your Own Civilization” students look to the ancient world to understand why some societies fail, and some succeed. All students take our core course of “Looking for an Argument” which builds reasoning muscle in a weekly cycle of listening to two adults debate, reading a variety of different short viewpoints, debating as a class and culminating in a Friday in-class essay on questions like “Should parents ban their kids from Facebook? Should the NYPD continue its stop-and-frisk policy?”

Resources

Best of History Websites: Has links and reviews for the best history sites on the web. All links have been evaluated by teachers.